


The Odds Were in Our Favor

by LadyLibby



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Catching Fire, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Marriage Proposal, Quarter Quell, Relationship(s), Romance, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 03:56:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11199963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLibby/pseuds/LadyLibby
Summary: You reflect on your time with Finnick while preparing for your wedding.





	The Odds Were in Our Favor

You sat in your room in District 13, looking into the mirror but not seeing your reflection. Out of the corner of your eye you could see the simple, but elegant white dress laying on your bed. Today was the day. You were finally marrying Finnick, the love of your life. 

As you pinned up your hair in a loose fashion, you remembered how it all had started.

~

Y/N L/N, the winner if the 70th Hunger Games, a 17 year old girl from District 8. The orphan who managed to win it all. Only a year after your “victory” you were returning to the overwhelming sound and color of the Capitol as the youngest mentor in the history of the games. Your own mentor, James, had died suddenly two months before, leaving you to try and keep the new tributes alive. 

Winning the Hunger Games was more of a curse than a blessing. Everyone spoke about be grateful for surviving, for getting to go home. No one ever told the tributes about the nightmares, the loneliness, and the blackmail. It forced you to grow up fast, and alone. If you had let anyone into your heart, they would have been astonished by your strength, by how you managed to get out of your bed each day after reliving your final moments in the arena every night. 

But you didn’t let anyone in. Becoming quiet, you did your best to balance being kind to the tributes with not making an attachment. It was too hard. They were your friends, your peers. It just made it all the harder when you had to say goodbye on the morning of the games. All you could do was hug them tight and hope they would listen to your advice. 

They did not. The boy died at the cornucopia within ten minutes of the countdown, and the girl just hours later, hunted by a career pack. You didn’t watch the rest of the games. For the first day, you were locked away from the world, crying. When you fell into a restless sleep, you could only dream of the boy from District 2 with his hands around your throat. You tossed and turned, as you remembered grabbing a rock and with the last vestiges of strength, hitting him. Hitting him over and over and over again as you cried. 

You woke, breathing heavily with tears streaming down your face. Shaking, you dressed and took a walk through the slightly less crowded streets of the Capitol. The people were so consumed with watching the large public screens that no one took notice of you. Well, almost no one. 

A very handsome, but equally broken man had just made a deal with some sponsors when he saw you. You were pale, with dark circles under your eyes, but Finnick could still see the unbreakable strength he’s seen last year, when he watched as Caesar Flickerman interviewed you. The smile you wore then was just as painted on as your makeup. You had a sad beautiful look in your eye. The kind that let him see a strength shining through. He saw that you still had a fight inside that the Capitol wouldn’t break you. It gave him hope for the first time in a long time. 

After the death of his own parents Finnick had terminated his...contract with Snow and rebuilt his life. Like you, this was his first year as a mentor. Throughout the years since he won the 65th games, Finnick had had people beside him. His family, Mags, and a few friends. You had no one. Finnick was determined to change that. 

It was beginning to rain, and while many of the citizens started to filter out of the square, concerned with keeping their elaborate hairdos dry, you did not. You, were stuck in place, staring at the screen before you. Finnick jogged to catch up to you, and at the sight of you crying, he looked up as well. 

That year’s District 1 tribute was strangling a young girl from District 7. Well aware of your history, Finnick looked at you with compassion and concern. 

“Y/N,” He said, trying not to startle you. 

You didn’t notice him, or the pouring rain for that matter. 

“Y/N,” He tried again, reaching slowly toward you. Finally you looked over at him, fear and sadness written all over your expression. 

“Finnick Odair, hello. H-how do you know my name?” You asked, beginning to shiver. 

“I wanted to see if you’re ok…” He said, touching your arm lightly. You flinched, but didn’t pull away. 

“I…” You began, before starting to sob. Finnick didn’t run away or try to pass you off to someone else. He simply shed his coat and put it around your shoulders, leading you back to his room. 

He dried you off and held you until the tears stopped. After that, you talked for hours. For the first time in a long while, you had a friend. In turn, Finnick opened up about what Snow had made him do, and you listened without judgement. After that night, you had become practically inseparable. 

~

You took your hands from your hair and picked up an old wooden picture frame. Finnick’s smiling face looked into the camera as you kissed his cheek. The photo was taken when you had come to District 4 to visit him. Unfortunately, the happiness of that moment was fleeting. Just a day after you returned home, the Quarter Quell was announced. Being the only surviving female victor, your fate was sealed from the moment President Snow read the words on the card. With a sad smile, you recalled the moments before you had entered the arena. 

 

Finnick had grabbed your hand before you had to go in with your stylist. He pulled you close and pressed his forehead to yours. 

“I love you.” He said, and you savored the warmth of his embrace. 

“I love you too.” You whispered, trying to keep calm. Just stick to the plan, you told yourself. If you stuck to the plan, you would get out and join the revolution. 

“If we get out of this,” Finnick said in a hushed tone, aware of the nearby Peacekeepers, “will you marry me?” He asked, flashing that charming smile that made your knees weak. 

“Hell of a time to ask me that, Finnick.” You said, trying not to cry, “Yes, obviously I’ll marry you  _ when _ we get out of this.” 

“Get a move on!” Shouted a Peacekeeper. 

Finnick pressed a quick, meaningful kiss to your lips before you both disappeared into the sparse white rooms on opposite ends of a hallway. You were fitted into a black and white suit with a mockingjay pin hidden under the collar to prove your alliance with Katniss and Peeta. 

In the arena, you joined Johanna, Blight, Wiress, and Beetee when you couldn’t find Finnick. At the cornucopia, you were forced to kill one of the District 5 victors. The act made your chest feel tight and the world spin a little as you fought back panic. Finnick’s face was not included in the pictures of the fallen, giving you hope and strength to make it to him.

Then Blight hit the forcefield, making his heart stop. You did your best to revive him, using the CPR that Finnick had taught you, but after trying for 5 minutes, the sound of a cannon signified his death. 

Both Johanna and you were beginning to question why the hell you shouldn’t hate Katniss Everdeen for starting this mess when it started to rain blood. Johanna had utterly lost her patience as Wiress went into shock and began to recite nursery rhymes. You and Beetee did your best, but morale was almost gone from the dehydration and fatigue. 

By the time you found the beach in the morning, it was becoming incredibly difficult to walk. When you heard Finnick’s voice calling your name, you weren’t entirely sure it wasn’t a hallucination. 

You were overjoyed when you felt him wrap you up in a hug and heard him whispering little words of relief and love into your hair. You were having trouble standing on stable legs, so Peeta brought you some water before Finnick carried you into the water and washed the blood from your skin and out of your hair. 

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you.” You said, wrapping your arms around his chest. 

“I think I’m just as happy as you are, darling.” His expression quickly turned serious however, and he took your hand. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Promise. It’ll be easier with you here, though.” You said, squeezing his hand. 

After the disastrous second trip to the cornucopia, your band of survivors returned to beach with a plan of action. As the sun set, Finnick held you close. Neither of you spoke, enjoying the certainty of the moment. You didn’t know if you would make it to see the next day, but you were going to enjoy the feeling of being close to the one you loved. 

Approaching midnight, Katniss and Johanna weren’t back. Beetee needed Finnick and Peeta with him for protection. With a lingering kiss goodbye, you left Finnick to go look for them.

“Katniss? Johanna?” You called. When no answer came, you fell silent, uneasiness settling in your stomach. 

“Johanna?” You whisper-yelled again, still with no answer. 

You made your way back towards the tree, hoping that they had done the same. Pushing through the underbrush, you heard thunder gathering as you ran into Brutus. He snarled at you with his sharpened teeth and swung a blade. 

Sidestepping in the nick of time, you gripped the knife in your hand tighter. He swung at you again, cutting a deep gash into your side. You cried out, but used his moment of distracted victory to run at him. Grabbing his wrist, you twisted it sideways, making him drop the weapon with a cry of pain. You kneed him in the groin, making him double over in pain. 

Knowing you had no room to hesitate, you plunged the knife into his neck, leaving the blade there as you continued on your way to the tree. Once again, you fought back the sick feeling that came from knowing you had taken another life. You held your side as the blood flowed, stumbling through the forest. The thunder became louder, and you slowed when you saw Finnick and Katniss. Katniss had her bow aimed at the sky. 

“Finnick get away-” You tried to warn. 

He rushed to you at the sight of the blood, not heeding your warning. The lightning struck the tree and Katniss let her arrow fly. The force of the blast sent all three of you flying. You hit the ground hard, falling unconscious. 

~

You stood to put on your wedding dress, letting your fingers linger over the new scar on your side, where Brutus’s blade had hit you. The white fabric was soft and you felt beautiful wearing it. District 13 weddings weren’t grand affairs, but you didn’t mind. The wedding wasn’t the important part for you. It was the fact that you and Finnick would finally say I do. You would be his and he would be yours in sickness and in health. Till death do you part. 

With a smile, you grabbed your small bouquet and opened the door, stepping into the next phase of your life, eager to spend it with the man who held your heart. 


End file.
